Australian speculative fiction author Dr Sean Williams has been awarded the 2016/17 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship and will travel to Antarctica to research an alternate history novel based on the Heroic era of Antarctic exploration.

Children across the country will get the chance to be part of Australia's Antarctic future, with a school competition to name the nation's new state-of-the-art icebreaker to be held in term one of 2017.

Australia has welcomed the establishment of a new Marine Protected Area in the Ross Sea region of the Southern Ocean and is encouraged by continued support for the proposal to establish the East Antarctica MPA in the future.

Australia will continue its push for marine protected areas in East Antarctica at the 35th annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) which starts in Hobart today.

A quarter of a century after the landmark decision to ban mining in Antarctica indefinitely, Australia has joined the international Antarctic community to reaffirm an unwavering commitment to protect the icy continent from exploitation.

Scientists from Australia and the European Union have joined forces to better understand the role of micronekton in the marine food web, holding the first project meeting of the new partnership in Hobart today.

Tasmania will host two major Antarctic meetings in 2020, bringing together the world’s foremost experts in Antarctic research and operations and further cementing the state’s role as a key Antarctic Gateway.

You wouldn’t expect to find a crocodile or rhino in Antarctica but thanks to their distinctive shape, both now have an official icy island namesake. ‘Crocodile Island’ and ‘Rhino Island’ are among 28 newly named places in the Australian Antarctic Territory, including 17 islands and 11 geographical features.

While the sun has officially returned to the skies above Davis research station thick cloud has prevented the expeditioners from seeing it, with the forecast suggesting it will be a few more days before the team can enjoy its golden glow!

Research published in the prestigious journal Nature has revealed the Earth’s largest ice sheet and a warming climate could lead to a rise in sea level of several metres in coming centuries to millennia.

Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division will investigate the impact of micro plastics on the Southern Ocean food web and use innovative technology to undertake an Antarctic whale survey during an international circumnavigation voyage of Antarctica later this year.

An array of atmospheric instruments will be deployed on Macquarie Island in April to help scientists better understand Southern Ocean clouds and how they can be used to improve weather forecasting and climate models.

Improved weather conditions have allowed the transfer of expeditioners from the grounded icebreaker Aurora Australis to Mawson research station today, after which the ship’s crew will attempt to refloat the vessel.

The Australian Antarctic Division is receiving assistance from the US Antarctic program to transport expeditioners who were waiting at Davis research station to return home aboard the icebreaker after the summer season.

The Royal Australian Air Force has successfully flown the final flight into East Antarctica in a series of proof of concept flights by the Royal Australian Air Force in support of the Australian Antarctic Division.

The Aurora Australis has arrived at its first marine science station in the Southern Ocean, marked by the successful deployment of the first of five Argo floats which will provide close to real-time observations on the current station of the ocean to scientists around the world.

An emergency response team from the Australian Antarctic Division has rescued a helicopter pilot who fell into a crevasse after landing on a remote ice shelf near Australia’s Davis station late yesterday.

A team of Australia’s leading Antarctic marine scientists will depart Hobart tomorrow for the Southern Ocean to investigate the impact of climate change on the Kerguelen Axis, a biological hotspot where swarms of krill sustain iconic Antarctic wildlife, including fish, seals, penguins and whales.